Kraken

Le Poulpe Colossal
A "colossal octopus" attacking ship, pen and wash<ref>[1]</ref> by Pierre Denys-Montfort, engraved by Étienne Claude Voysard, 1801<ref>[2]</ref>

Kraken (legally named Payward, Inc.) is a United States–based cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2011. In 2026, it launched commission-free trading for over 11,000 U.S.-listed stocks and exchange-traded funds as part of its expansion into traditional financial markets.[1]

In September 2020, Kraken received approval from the State of Wyoming to form Kraken Bank, a Special Purpose Depository Institution, becoming the first U.S. digital asset company granted a state-recognized bank charter. In May 2025, Kraken announced plans to launch tokenized stocks and exchange-traded funds for customers outside the United States, offering blockchain-based representations of major equities across Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Asia.

History

Founding and Early Development (2011–2014)

Jesse Powell, Thanh Luu and Michael Gronager established Kraken in 2011 and launched it in 2013 from their San Francisco base with the aim of creating a more secure cryptocurrency exchange that would overcome the security problems which had affected Mt. Gox. Before co-founding Kraken in 2011, Jesse Powell served as a consultant to the Japan-based bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox, where he assisted with operational recovery efforts following a major security breach. Powell developed an alternative cryptocurrency exchange platform after he found major security and operational deficiencies at Mt. Gox. The company Kraken launched its operations in July 2011 together with its parent organization Payward, Inc. The company introduced its services to the public in September 2013 which enabled users to trade bitcoin and Litecoin and euro until the platform later added more currencies and margin trading capabilities.

Kraken announced its Series A funding achievement of $5 million in March 2014 through a funding round led by Hummingbird Ventures which included investors Trace Mayer and Barry Silbert. The company planned to use the funds for three specific purposes which included building compliance capabilities and establishing banking partnerships and growing its customer support services.

The organization helped to establish the Japan Authority of Digital Assets (JADA) and the U.S.-based Digital Asset Transfer Authority (DATA) while becoming one of the initial cryptocurrency exchanges that Bloomberg terminals used to display bitcoin prices. The largest early bitcoin exchange in Tokyo began operations with the establishment of Mt. Gox in 2010. The company went bankrupt in 2014 after it lost about 850,000 bitcoins, which resulted in extended legal battles and court-supervised recovery processes. Later, the user base of Kraken grew by 50 percent during the two months that followed. The Mt. Gox bankruptcy trustee chose Kraken in 2014 to help investigate missing bitcoins while they handled asset liquidation and asset distribution to creditors.

Expansion and Acquisitions (2015–2020)

In 2015, Kraken became the first cryptocurrency exchange to list Ethereum’s ether (ETH), marking an early adoption of the Ethereum network and expanding its support for emerging digital assets. In June 2015, Kraken launched a bitcoin dark pool, enabling large-volume trades through a private order book to reduce market impact, marking an expansion of its institutional trading and liquidity services.

In January 2016, Kraken acquired Coinsetter and Cavirtex, expanding its presence in the United States and Canada, strengthening North American market access, and integrating the platforms into its global cryptocurrency trading operations.

In June 2016, Kraken acquired the Dutch bitcoin exchange CleverCoin, integrating its assets and customer base into Kraken’s platform to expand its presence in European cryptocurrency markets. In the same month, it received a Series B investment from Japan-based Money Partners Group, strengthening its strategic partnership and expanding its presence in Asian financial markets and blockchain-based trading services.

In 2017, Kraken acquired the charting and trading platform Cryptowatch, integrating its technology into Kraken’s trading interface to enhance market data, analytics, and user experience for cryptocurrency traders and by December 2017, Kraken claimed to be registering up to 50,000 new users a day. It announced the closure of its services in Japan in April 2018, citing rising operational costs, and later re-entered the Japanese market in 2020.

In February 2019, Kraken acquired London-based Crypto Facilities in a nine-figure deal, expanding into regulated cryptocurrency futures and index services, and strengthening its global spot and derivatives trading capabilities. In June 2019, Kraken raised approximately $13.5 million through a crowdfunding round on BnkToTheFuture, supported by over 2,000 investors, to increase valuation and fund future acquisitions and expansion.

In July 2021, Payward, Inc., operating as Kraken, submitted comments to the U.S. Federal Reserve regarding proposed guidelines for master account access, criticizing the framework as discriminatory toward state-chartered digital asset banks such as Kraken Bank.

Global Operations (2021–2023)

In 2021, Kraken marked its tenth anniversary, doubled its workforce to over 2,000 employees, expanded token listings, grew staking payouts to over $500 million, launched Kraken Ventures, and introduced new consumer apps and infrastructure to support global cryptocurrency adoption. In January 2021, Kraken launched its mobile app across Europe, allowing users in 42 countries to buy and sell cryptocurrencies, expanding consumer access to digital asset markets. The service became available in the United States in June.

In December 2021, Kraken acquired the non-custodial staking platform Staked, expanding its staking infrastructure, increasing supported proof-of-stake networks, and strengthening its position as a leading global provider of cryptocurrency yield and staking services.

In early 2021, Kraken sought additional funding at a valuation exceeding $20 billion, with Tribe Capital becoming its second-largest institutional investor and Arjun Sethi joining the company’s board of directors With a valuation exceeding $1 billion, Kraken was classified as a unicorn company, reflecting its status as a privately held startup valued at over one billion U.S. dollars. In September 2022, Kraken announced that chief operating officer Dave Ripley would succeed co-founder and chief executive officer Jesse Powell, who became chairman of the board of directors after stepping down as CEO.

In December 2022, Kraken announced it would cease operations in Japan and deregister from the Financial Services Agency effective January 31, 2023, citing weak global crypto markets and cost-cutting measures following workforce reductions. and in the same month, it launched a public beta of its NFT marketplace, Kraken NFT, enabling users to explore and trade non-fungible tokens. The platform initially supported over 110 curated collections and offered multi-currency funding options and zero-gas-fee trading for assets held on Kraken.

In February 2023, Kraken closed its Abu Dhabi office less than a year after launch, citing declining trading volumes and restructuring, and laid off regional staff following broader workforce reductions amid adverse macroeconomic conditions.

In May 2023, Kraken’s chief legal officer testified before the U.S. Congress regarding legislative and regulatory matters affecting cryptocurrency markets and the company’s compliance and oversight practices. Kraken officially launched NFT trading in June 2023, allowing users to purchase and list non-fungible tokens using either fiat currency or cryptocurrency. In September 2023, Bloomberg reported that Kraken planned to expand beyond cryptocurrencies by introducing trading in the U.S.-listed stocks and exchange-traded funds for the first time. On 27 September 2023, Kraken received e-money institution authorisation from Ireland’s Central Bank and VASP registration in Spain, enabling expanded euro services across all 27 European Union countries. In October 2023, Kraken acquired Coin Meester B.V. (BCM), strengthening its regulated presence as a Virtual Asset Service Provider in the Netherlands, France, and Poland, and expanding its European operations.

Diversification (2024 - Present)

Kraken launched its Kraken Institutional division in March 2024 to provide dedicated services for institutional investors. The company launched its multi-chain cryptocurrency wallet, Kraken Wallet which supports eight blockchain networks immediately after the launch of Kraken.

In October 2024, the company declared its decision to cut 15 percent of its workforce reduction, which meant that approximately 400 employees would be laid off from their total workforce of 2600 employees. Arjun Sethi received his appointment as co-chief executive officer for the same month that Dave Ripley became his business partner.

In November 2024, Kraken and a consortium of cryptocurrency firms launched the Global Dollar Network, a joint stablecoin initiative pegged to the United States dollar. In 2024, Kraken reported $42.8 billion in assets, 2.5 million funded accounts, and $665 billion in trading volume. CEO Dave Ripley reported that the company achieved $1.5 billion in revenue which marked a 100 percent increase from 2023 revenue and the company generated profits.

In March 2025, Kraken planned to launch its initial public offering during 2026 because U.S. regulations had become more favorable and the company intended to enter public markets. The company introduced its white-label service, Embed, in April 2025, which enables banks and fintech companies to provide cryptocurrency trading services through their own platforms. The service enables partners to access Kraken's licensed exchange through API connections, which allows them to implement crypto trading capabilities without developing an entire system.

The company began to offer commission-free trading for 11000 U.S.-listed stocks and exchange-traded funds in April 2025 which they made available in specific states. The company expanded into traditional equities through its phased rollout which served as its first step in implementing a broader diversification strategy.

In March 2025, Kraken announced an agreement to acquire futures trading platform NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion. The deal aimed to expand Kraken’s presence in U.S. futures markets and accelerate its multi-asset strategy across traditional and cryptocurrency trading.

Reuters reported that the transaction underscored the growing integration between cryptocurrency firms and traditional financial institutions, reflecting the broader adoption of digital assets within mainstream financial markets.

In May 2025, Kraken launched what it described as Europe’s most extensive regulated cryptocurrency futures offering, expanding its MiFID-regulated derivatives services across the European Economic Area and strengthening its position in the region’s regulated crypto trading market. In the same month, Kraken announced plans to launch trading in tokenized equities for customers outside the United States, enabling digital ledger-based trading of shares in companies including Apple, Tesla, and Nvidia.

In October 2025, Kraken announced the acquisition of the Small Exchange from IG Group. IG Group had previously acquired the exchange from Foris DAX Markets in April 2023.

In January 2026, Payward completed the acquisition of Backed, fully integrating issuance, trading, and settlement within itsxStocks platform to support a vertically integrated operating model.

For 2025, the company reported adjusted revenue of $2.2 billion, up year over year, and adjusted EBITDA of $531 million, reflecting increased operating leverage across its unified platform. Platform transaction volume reached approximately $2.0 trillion, while platform assets grew to $48.2 billion. Funded accounts increased to 5.7 million, highlighting continued expansion in user activity and product adoption.

Controversies

Government regulator investigations

Kraken suspended its New York operations in August 2015 because the BitLicense regulatory framework and its compliance requirements created operational difficulties for the company. In April 2018, Kraken refused to share requested information with the New York Attorney General's Office which conducted an investigation into cryptocurrency exchanges' market manipulation and money laundering protection measures. The company used compliance expenses as its reason for leaving the New York market which it described as dangerous for cryptocurrency businesses.

Later that year, the New York Attorney General released a report advising consumers to avoid platforms that did not participate in the review and referred to Kraken, Binance, and Gate. io, to the New York State Department of Financial Services for potential violations of state virtual currency regulations.

In March 2019, Kraken was investigated by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control after self-reporting potential sanctions violations involving users in Iran. In November 2022, the company settled for $362,000 and agreed to enhance compliance controls. Separately, in September 2021, Kraken paid $1.25 million to settle U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission charges related to unregistered margin trading.

In December 2024, Australia’s Federal Court ordered Kraken’s local operator, Bit Trade Pty, to pay an A$8 million (US$5.1 million) fine after ASIC found breaches of design and distribution obligations related to its margin trading products.

In February 2023, Kraken agreed to pay $30 million to settle charges brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission regarding itscrypto asset staking services. The SEC alleged the program constituted an unregistered securities offering. Under the settlement, Kraken discontinued staking services for U.S. customers while continuing to serve non-U.S. users.

In 2025, Kraken launched a new on-chain staking product for U.S. clients in select states, enabling eligible customers to stake supported cryptocurrencies through Kraken Pro following earlier regulatory restrictions on U.S. staking services.

In November 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed suit against Kraken in the SEC, against Payward Inc., alleging the company operated as an unregistered securities exchange and improperly commingled customer and corporate funds, which Kraken denied. The company maintained that it did not list securities and that existing U.S. law did not require crypto exchange registration. In March 2025, the SEC agreed to drop the lawsuit.

Identifying Glassdoor reviewers

Payward, the parent company of Kraken, requested Glassdoor to help them find ex-employees who posted unfavorable workplace reviews, in 2019. The Electronic Frontier Foundation supported Glassdoor in opposing the request, arguing it threatened anonymous speech and employee rights. The dispute raised concerns over the use of non-disparagement clauses and protections for online reviewers.

Work culture and layoffs

In April 2025, the company terminated hundreds of workers through multiple department layoffs which formed part of its restructuring process that preceded its planned initial public offering. The company implemented workforce cuts to achieve three objectives, those goals being to make operations more efficient and to boost profits and to match staff levels with its upcoming business development plan.

Kraken terminated approximately 1,100 employees which represented 30 percent of its staff in November 2022 after FTX collapsed. The collapse of FTX resulted in widespread disruptions that caused various cryptocurrency companies to initiate employee reductions and declare bankruptcy.

In June 2022, CEO Jesse Powell criticized the use of preferred gender pronouns and initiated internal debate on gender identity. The Kraken company published a cultural document which defined its workplace standards while prohibiting employees from using offensive language and providing severance to those who opposed the established policy.

Sponsorship

Kraken sponsors Williams Racing Formula One car and features as a sleeve sponsor on European football club kits.

Association football

From 2024 until 2025, Kraken maintained football sponsorships with European clubs which included Tottenham Hotspur, Atlético de Madrid and RB Leipzig. The partnerships used fan engagement activations which included the "Kraken Kit Exchange" to increase brand visibility while delivering educational and experiential value to supporters.

Formula One

Kraken established its relationship with Williams Racing when it became a Formula One team in 2023. The sponsorship included various elements such as branding and digital collectibles and virtual experiences and multiple fan zones which provided free fan engagement activities that included driver meet-and-greet events and racing simulator experiences.